Any advice for how to entertain the little one or utilize our time during rider swap? Our trip is July 6th-13th and will have DH, DS10, DS8, and DD3 with me. It’s been about 30 years since I have been to WDW, so I’m clueless. We will have to use rider swap on all the major rides. Here is what I have so far…
7DMT - Winnie the Pooh or whatever has the shortest wait near by. We have a 9:15 FP for this one, so lines should still be pretty short.
Space - People Mover?
BTMR - ???
Splash - ???
Soarin’ - Get a snack at Sunshine Seasons
Test Track - ???
Mision Space - ???
Slinky Dog Dash - We have an 11:00 FP, so I thought I could mobile order our lunch at Woody’s Lunchbox while waiting
Tower of Terror - We aren’t actually doing rider swap because my DH does not like freefall rides.
RnRc - My DH and D10 will ride this with FPs while myself, DD3, & DS8 go to Beauty and the Beast
Star Tours - ???
FOP - explore the land?
EE - ?
Dinosaur - Boneyard? TriceraTop Spin? We will be in DinoLand pretty early in the morning.
KRR - ???
The CMs will tell the second party to leave and come back in XX amount of time. They don’t wanta bunch of swappers hanging out there at the queue and it does take 15 min or more depending on the ride. FOP might take 20-30 min. My estimations are probably way off but you get the point.
My little is quite happy going in gift shops for that amount of time. We usually stay close and hit a store or get a snack/coffee.
7DMT - The storybook circus area has lots to explore. Dumbo has an awesome indoor play area that takes the place of the queue.
Splash - Dole Whip at Aloha Isle (mobile order ahead)
Mission Space/Test Track - The fountains, Club Cool, Mousegear
Dinosaur - The Boneyard is great. There is also a big Dinosaur that my kids love to climb on (for way too long) just before the entrance to Dinosaur
7DMT - Winnie the Pooh can sometimes have a long line, so I second the Dumbo/circus area. Teacups are also close.
Space - People Mover or Buzz but that’s a very slow standby line
BTMR & Splash - Ideally you’d have these rides back to back so Aloha Isle/bathroom break/Magic Carpets
Soarin’ - Living with the Land or Sunshine Seasons. We actually did Figment for this but it is in a different show building. Nemo (and aquarium area) and Character Spot are about the same distance as well.
Test Track & Mision Space - We haven’t done either of these yet, but maybe Spaceship Earth or one of the ride exit play areas
Slinky Dog Dash - Woody’s Lunchbox is a great idea, because the other rides get really long lines too and I avoid long lines when I’m alone with my toddler. We did the mobile order lunch swap for our FOP FP and it worked really well because toddlers take forever to eat.
Tower of Terror & RnRc - Lightning McQueen. Beauty and the Beast, Hollywood Scoops ice cream
Star Tours - Launch Bay is a straight shot across that middle section of the park. We wandered through there and met Pluto in the courtyard area. The Star Wars stage shows could also be fun if you time it right, but those were canceled for rain the day we were there.
FOP - explore, play with drums when no show is happening, Satuli Canteen, Tree of Life area
EE - Asia trail? Ice cream/bathroom break?
Dinosaur - Boneyard opens a little later, maybe 10:30; TriceraTop Spin is fun; There’s also characters to meet starting at 10
KRR - Ice cream/bathroom break? I think that’s also close to the Up bird show, but I might be wrong on that.
I did a lot of walking around in shops, took bathroom breaks, grabbed a snack or drink, and sat in a shady spot trying to grab/modify fastpasses. There’s a lot to look at all over the place and we really enjoyed the “break” from our touring plan to kinda wander for 15 min or so.
While waiting at dinosaur you can probably find a short line for a character meet if they have started for the day already. We met Launchpad McQuack while DH and DS8 were on dinosaur.
My answers are assuming that the 3yo will not be riding, but the two older kids will.
Space - Tomorrowland Speedway. Kids love it!
BTMR & Splash - The play area under the bridge immediately to the right of the Splash entrance. It’s a small area, but our DD5 can still happily spend 30 minutes there.
Soarin’ - Snack sounds like a good idea, or do Living with the Land.
Test Track - There is a play area sort of between Test Track and Mouse Gear. Decent size, will easily occupy a kid for the time it takes to ride Test Track.
Mission Space - Again, there is a play area at the ride exit. You can get there by walking through the gift shop to the left of the M:S entrance. You’ll also immediately spot the rest of the family when they’re done riding, so no need to arrange to meet somewhere.
Slinky Dog Dash - I’d stick with the lunch plan.
Star Tours - There are quite a few character meets you could do. Olaf is probably the closest one. You’ll pass the building on your right as you walk to Star Tours.
FOP - The gift shop at the FoP exit has some cool stuff. Also, check the schedule to see when the drummers and the utility suit are on.
EE - Definitely the Boneyard, which is just a few minutes walk away.
Dinosaur - Again, Boneyard. Don’t miss the large sandpit across the bridge (still inside the Boneyard).
KRR - Maharajah Jungle Trek or a snack.
There used to be a couple fountains by this, if they are still there, my kids played for a long time there and still got to get wet so it was a win/win
I think the best plan is to just play it by ear. That’s what we usually do with RS. A lot of the time we’re using the switch off time as an opportunity for a restroom break, snack, drink, or souvenir shopping. 7DMT, teacups usually has a short line so you might be able to ride it or even the carousel. Pooh could be hit or miss depending on the line.
Space - People mover is a possibility. Astro Orbiter could be an option if you happen to catch a short line.
BTMR/Splash - play area under train station… but it is small, hot and in times we’ve gone there, crowded. We usually end up using the AC of the Splash store or walking around Frontierland to find AC, snacks, drinks or shade somewhere.
Soarin - Good call on a snack. Possibly ride Living with the Land too.
Test Track/MS - You can wait in the exit area of TT, there’s a gift shop and some Chevrolet cars and trucks on display. There’s also a Mission control area at the exit of Mission Space. DW often goes to Mouse Gears. The back entrance is close to TT/MS and it is one of our favorite Disney Stores.
Star Tours - Grab a snack/drink at Backlot Express, maybe watch the Jedi Training Academy if the time works out.
FOP - Exploring the land is a great idea. A lot to take in so wandering around and checking it all out will certainly be worthwhile.
EE - This one is tougher… it is hard to find a good, shaded cool area to wait around here. Maybe wander around and just take in the detail. The Asia area is very well detailed and beautiful.
Dinosaur - Good calls
KRR - Explore Asia some more. The Jungle trek is close by if you want to look at some animals.
We did the mobile order lunch swap for our FOP FP and it worked really well because toddlers take forever to eat.